Oregon has been here before … sort of.
In 2021, the Ducks traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to take on the No. 3 team in the land, and went home with a 35-28 upset victory.
No one across the United States, ( except for maybe Eugene, ) thought that would ever happen, especially in the Horseshoe!
Flash forward almost a year and Oregon finds itself once again on the road against the No. 3 in the country, only this time it’s in Atlanta to take on the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.
Yes, it’s being touted as a neutral site game, but come on, let’s return to planet earth, Saturday’s match-up in the Mercedes-Benz Dome is most definitely a home game for the Dawgs.
In Oregon’s favor, however, is that the Ducks won’t be facing the same UGA team that crushed Alabama to win its third national championship and the first since 1980.
Georgia lost the majority of that historically great defense from a year ago, including six of the front seven. Lucky for them Alabama, Texas A&M or LSU aren’t on the regular season schedule.
The only defensive lineman that remains is Jalen Carter, who will most likely be a high first-round draft pick in 2023. At 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, he should be a literal handful for the Oregon offensive line.
But Carter isn’t the only beefy Bulldog up front. Zion Logue at 6-5 and 295 pounds will also be lining up as well as Tramel Walthour at 6-3, 280 pounds.
The linebackers and secondary are a different story as they have plenty of talent, but lack experience. Coach Kirby Smart has recruited on a very high level ever since he got to Georgia, so the Bulldogs don’t rebuild, they just reload.
Linebackers Nolan Smith, Trezman Marshall, and Robert Beal have a chance to be a special group. They just need the on-field experience and they’ll get plenty in 2022.
In the secondary, again, inexperience may be an issue, but Kelee Ringo is the one corner Oregon will have to pay attention to.
Ringo came up with the big Pick-6 to seal Alabama’s fate last year.
On offense, Georgia is also inexperienced, but it’s always a huge bonus when you bring back a senior quarterback that won the big one.
Stetson Bennett came back for another season in Athens.
He completed nearly 65 percent of his passes in 2021, threw for 29 touchdowns and was picked off just seven times. A similar season in 2022 almost guarantees another trip to the SEC title game.
The receivers and tailbacks are very talented and just need those in-game reps. Georgia’s offensive line was ranked in the Top 5 in the country and the Ducks will have to scheme a way to control All-American tight end Brock Bowers, who had 13 touchdowns as a freshman last season.
SCORE PREDICTION
Oregon 34, Georgia 27